Florida Marlins hope catcher John Baker returns by mid-June

Catcher John Baker was on his way to Jupiter this morning, in his car driving up Florida’s Turnpike through Delray Beach, when he got a call from the Marlins: Scrap your plans to hit with the Hammerheads and come on back…

The Marlins initially planned for Baker to bat as the designated hitter for the Class Hammerheads but they forgot about an MLB rule: Once he starts a rehab assignment — which DHing in Jupiter would have entailed — he has just 20 days to be activated or put on the 60-day DL.
The problem — Baker hasn’t started throwing yet, so the Marlins were afraid he might not return to his full throwing form in 20 days. He has been out since May 14 with a right forearm strain.

Baker will try to start a throwing program tomorrow. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he hopes Baker can return to the team by June 14 or so, but a better timetable will depend on his throwing progress.

The Hammerheads will get another Marlins player soon — LHP Renyel Pinto is expected to start a rehab stint in Jupiter later this week or this weekend.

Marlins long-shots for D-Train
UPDATE: One unconfirmed report has Willis going to Arizona. You can read that here.
The Marlins have “mild interest” in Dontrelle Willis, but at least three other teams have “legitimate interest,” according to a person familiar with Willis’ situation: The Arizona Diamondbacks are considered the leading contenders for the D-Train, and the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets are also in it.

Although Willis would be a nice fit in the Marlins bullpen — would you rather have him or Pinto/Tankersley facing lefties? — I think a D-Train reunion in South Florida is a long shot.

He wants to start and Arizona reportedly would put him in the rotation.

Cooperstown calls on Halladay
The Baseball Hall of Fame is scheduled to receive from the Phillies the cap worn by Roy Halladay during his perfect game Saturday, as well as a game-used ball.